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Australian scientists announced they have discovered a twin asteroid impact crater in the Central Australia that may be the largest ever found. The question is, does it correspond to a major extinction event. Maybe, but it’s not clear yet as the age is questionable. World’s largest asteroid impacts found in central Australia | ANU. A…

Sometimes† space is just awesome. More specifically, stuff (or mass) in space has some properties that manifest in empirically awesome ways. Earlier this week, Science put out a report on a supernova (Wikipedia) observed behind a galaxy in the MACS J1149.6+2223 cluster. This particular supernova is visible due to gravitational lensing (Wikipedia) around the cluster, greatly magnifying…

Nat Geo presented a not “new” finding and forgot they had done this before! Why? They did it for the Nookie, I mean, the hype, the clicks, the attention. Exclusive: Lost City Discovered in Honduran Rain Forest. In search for legendary “City of the Monkey God,” explorers find the untouched ruins of a vanished culture.…

Amazing! Original Magna Carta Copy Found in Scrapbook. An original copy of the Magna Carta has been discovered in a scrapbook in Kent, England. The tattered document dates back to 1300, 85 years after King John of England was compelled to sign the first agreement limiting the rights of kings. This version was issued by…

A mystery… Astronomers Catch Mysterious Radio Blast From the Distant Universe Coming from far beyond the galaxy, an extremely energetic blast of radio waves has been snared by astronomers lying in wait. Lasting for just a few thousandths of a second, the burst is the first of an enigmatic class of objects to be observed…

The earliest version of the Gospel of Mark? Results to be published later this year so, for now, we’re justified in reserving judgment. Mummy Mask May Reveal Oldest Known Gospel. This first-century gospel fragment was written on a sheet of papyrus that was later reused to create a mask that was worn by a mummy.…

In a small study that tracked 20 songbirds, scientists noted that five birds seemingly evacuated before an oncoming storm. BBC News – Birds ‘heard tornadoes coming’ and fled one day ahead. US scientists say tracking data shows that five golden-winged warblers “evacuated” their nesting site one day before the April 2014 tornado outbreak. Geolocators showed…

It’s hairless, bloated and decomposing. Of course people will freak out and speculate wildly. Unusual Creature Puzzles People on a Santa Barbara Beach | News – KEYT. A brownish creature, with sharp teeth and claws, is deceased on the beach in Santa Barbara after the latest storm, and many people are wondering what it is.…

Well, isn’t this interesting. You never know what you’re going to get. The body found buried in a car park now has additional evidence to show it really is that of Richard III. But wait… there’s more… Richard III DNA shows British Royal family may not have royal bloodline. Genetic testing through his maternal DNA proved…

A new research paper suggests the Antikythera mechanism was older than previously thought. Solving the Riddles of an Early Astronomical Calculator – NYTimes.com. [A] new analysis of the dial used to predict eclipses, which is set on the back of the mechanism, provides yet another clue to one of history’s most intriguing puzzles. Christián C.…

This is an update to this story from July of last year. New Clues Point To The Origin Of Poland’s Mysterious ‘Vampires’. Unconventional burial practices to prevent vampires from rising up from the grave were common in post-medieval Poland, but historians aren’t entirely sure why certain people were targeted more than others. A new study…

For almost 50 years, paleontologists had a mystery set of giant dinosaur arms. The rest of the animal has now been discovered… and his arms have been put back on. Mystery of dinosaur with giant arms solved. In the 1960s, researchers unearthed two gigantic dinosaur arms. For decades, scientists have speculated about what kind of…

As previously covered on Doubtful News, in March 2014 the BICEP research team announced results from a series of cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, which appeared to detect the first evidence of gravitational waves. As previously mentioned further review would be required, and some problems with the data have emerged. Criticism of Study Detecting Ripples From…

Previously-known Spinosaurus was a dinosaur that blew my mind. I couldn’t figure out the deal with the sail and the ultra-long snout. Turns out it had more surprises in store. Scientists report first semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus: Massive predator was more than 9 feet longer than largest T. rex — ScienceDaily. Scientists today unveiled what appears…

A new kind of animal, Dendrogramma, looks like a mushroom but does not fit into either the jellyfish or comb jelly family. It resembles fossils of some very ancient fauna. Their discovery could change the way scientists currently think organisms evolved. New Deep-Sea Animal Species Look Like Mushrooms but Defy Classification. The tiny animals, less…

Mystery of mysterious moving rocks is solved. Actually, it was solved a while ago. It’s just finally published. The research is public access and it is WONDERFUL. This is a fantastic piece everyone should read to note how methodically, carefully and thororoughly experiments must be planned and executed to get reliable, convincing results. There was…

A nearly one kilometer long gash has appeared in a remote farm area of Hermosillo Mexico leaving locals concerned and the rest of us amazed at the footage. Giant crack in Mexico seen by drone raises earthquake fears | News.com.au. The eight-metre deep trench opened up last week and severed Highway 26 between Hermosillo and…

Nature sometimes misses a beat and development goes awry. Two-headed dolphin washes up on beach in Turkey. The remains of a two-headed dolphin have been discovered on a beach in Turkey. The dolphin pup was approximately 12 months old and measured one metre (3.2ft) in length. Mehmet Gokoglu, a marine biologist from Akdeniz University who…

Oh this isn’t macabre at all… A 300-Year-Old Mexican Jesus Statue Has Real Human Teeth, X-Rays Show. The restoration of a venerated 18th century statue of Christ in Mexico has revealed a somewhat creepy detail — the figure contains real human teeth, and the chompers appear to be in pristine condition. Researchers at Mexico’s National…

It’s not everyday that a lovely lake appears in the middle of the desert. For good reason… Mystery as ‘lake’ appears in middle of Tunisian desert and becomes overnight tourist attraction. A mysterious lake that appeared suddenly in the Tunisian desert has created an impromptu “beach” in the drought-ridden country. No explanation has been given…

I need a shortcut name for these ridiculous evidence-devoid stories that make you scratch your head as to WHY it would be printed in any media outlet except as a joke. In this story, the depictions must be aliens because… because… it makes for a snappy headline. Who needs evidence? 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens…

This is rather exciting news for feathered dinosaur fans (who could probably use a win lately). A new species of feathered dinosaur has been discovered, and it is the largest four-winged flier yet known. Changyuraptor, Large Species of Flying Dinosaur, Is Discovered (New York Times): The new species, Changyuraptor, found in northeastern China, was four feet…

Oh man, I really hate to start the day with such an awful excuse for a headline. ‘Bottomless’ pit baffles scientists | New York Post. A huge, mysterious crater spotted in remote Siberia has scientists scrambling for answers: Was it a meteor? Was it a weapon? Or was it an explosive sign of global warming?…

As glimpsed among The Strange (2 July 2014), a newly discovered species of wasp has been found, which lines the walls of its home with ant corpses. Morbid, but it makes scents. Newfound Wasp Stacks Ant Skeletons in Its Home (Discovery News): A newly discovered wasp has been keeping a gruesome secret: It stuffs ant corpses…

The awaited paper is available here [PDF]. Dr. Bryan Sykes’ work was covered in a nice documentary that aired on British TV and in a condensed version in the U.S. Dr. Sykes has followed through and reported his findings of suspected Yeti hair in a very reputable journal. A book will follow. Was It a Yeti?…